Hello, Dean
by Broken-Latin
Summary: Castiel knew Dean before he raised him from Hell. He loved him. Teen AU. Destiel.


Hello, Dean

When the professor told the new boy that he was to sit beside Castiel, everyone pitied him. A few of the students considered passing him a note to tell him that he could ask Professor Kripke to move his seat—everyone who had to sit by him before had, and the old man obliged.

That was why Castiel was so amazed when the boy sat with him without complaint, giving him a smile. Castiel blushed, but found himself smiling back. It was sad rally, how this boy (Dean, the teacher had called him) was so ignorant to the way the world worked. It wouldn't be long until he was recruited for a clique and just the memory of smiling at Cas would make him ashamed.

Kripke began to drone on about how to make magnesium into red wine and laxatives or something. Castiel wasn't paying much attention. He was focused on Dean, looking him over, tracing the lines that made up his silhouette. Then Dean turned and Castiel panicked and turned away and Dean laughed. It wasn't a 'why are you looking at me, faggot, that's creepy' nervous laugh, but it was as if he found something genuinely funny.

Castiel tiled his head, not sure how to react to this. He assumed that Dean did not mean to mock him or be rude, but if not, why was he laughing? What did he find amusing? Castiel had no idea.

Dean gave him a grin that might have seemed smug, except that his eyes were bright and cheerful. "Keep on watching me. I might do something interesting."

Again, Castiel did not understand what he was supposed to do. Did Dean expect a specific reaction from him? Castiel was unsure, and since he was unsure, he chose to do nothing.

Dean laughed again. "It's cute how you're all spacey and shy." He smiled and gave Castiel a wink.

Castiel didn't know what to think, except that this was some kind of cruel joke that someone had put him up to. No one called him cute, and no one ever winked at him. Was this boy serious? Was he really _flirting_ with him? Either way, Castiel's face soon became a red blushing mess.

When the bell rang, Dean didn't stand and take off as fast as he could. No, he smiled to Castiel and gathered his things while Castiel did. "So, you wanna take me to my next class?"

"The next class is after lunch."

Dean nodded. "Okay. So you wanna take me to lunch? I don't know anyone, so we could sit together, if that's cool with your friends."

Castiel didn't know what he should say. "I… I don't have friends, so it should be okay."

"Ding dong, that is wrong."

Castiel made a face. Shouldn't he know if he had friends or not? "What about my statement is incorrect?"

"You've got a friend. And his name's Dean Winchester." He smiled and stood up. "Let's get going."

Baffled, Castiel followed Dean. Their lockers were right across the hall from one another. Castiel wasn't quite sure what he should tell Dean. If Dean was his friend, he wouldn't have any others. Dean met up with him at the lunch room and they waited in line together.

"Dean, why are you acting like my friend? Did other people put you up to it?" Castiel blurted. He hadn't meant to ask aloud, but it came out anyway and it was too late to take it back.

"I'm not acting, Cas. I'm really your friend. No one put me up to this. I like you because you're cute and you're shy and I think you're adorable. I wanna know you better." He smiled and placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder.

"Thank you, Dean."

"Not a problem," he said. They got their food—crappy, half-frozen spaghetti with crappy half-frozen sauce—and sat down together at Castiel's usual table. It was empty save for the two of them.

Until another boy sat down. Castiel's heart began to beat a little faster and he scooted closer to Dean. The boy was tall and lean and Castiel had never seen him before. God, who was he? Was he someone that one of the jocks had sent over to mess with them?

"Hey," he said. "I'm Sam." He smiled to Castiel, a smile that was familiar. It was almost identical to Dean's. "I'm Dean's brother." The tall boy looked to Dean. "Please tell me you're not trying to get laid. This kid's got it hard enough without you trying to get lucky."

So Sam had heard about Castiel. It was to be expected, he supposed. But… What he'd said hit him full force in a moment. "You want to have intercourse with me?" Castiel furrowed his brow, looking to Dean. "Why?"

Dean almost snorted. "Well, first off, I'm not trying to get anything out of you, not sex, not nothing. And second, I would gladly have sex with you if you swung that way and if we were closer, because you're gorgeous."

Castiel's face turned bright red. "I. . . I'm not," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not."

Dean chuckled. "Believe me. I don't tell every guy he'd pretty. You're special."

Castiel went silent and began to eat the crappy half-frozen lunch and listened to Sam and Dean talk about their dad being gone a week more than expected, and about how Sam had seen a cute guy. And then Castiel realized what they meant. They didn't just call people cute. They were… "Are you gay?"

He hadn't meant for it to come out so bluntly, and he blushed, looking away. "I'm so sorry. That was rude."

Dean shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. Yeah, Sammy is. I'm bi." He smiled. "And I assume that because you're adorable, you're straight as a ramp. But that's cool. All the cute ones are straight. I'm used to it."

Castiel was surprised that he was being called cute yet again. He wasn't used to all those compliments. "No." He shook his head. "People avoid me because I am homosexual."

Dean raised a brow. "Well. I'm gonna have to tell Sammy to back off then. What do you say, do I have a chance?" he asked, a smile on his lips.

Castiel didn't understand. Why was he so casual about this? Why was he even interested? This wasn't normal. He still thought that it could be a joke that the jocks put them up to. He glanced toward the popular table. None of them were watching like they expected anything to happen. Castiel glanced back at Dean. "I think you have a chance."

"Awesome." Dean smiled and finished up his crappy half-frozen food and stood up. "Why don't we go on outside?" he asked. Castiel nodded and followed the brothers out of the building and to the little courtyard. A few people were already there, a group of people that often messed with Castiel. The boy did his best to ignore them, but found it difficult when they came toward them.

"You know," said a girl, Ruby, "this boy isn't really who you want to hang out with. You want to be with someone who can get you up in the food chain, or else you're gonna go down, just like him."

Dean shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Actually, lady, I think I'm fine with Cas, here."

"Maybe you haven't heard. That boy's a little faggot. He'll try to make you fall in love with him. He'll try to convert you." Her voice spat the words, and she glared at Castiel in a way that made him uncomfortable. He shifted.

Dean laughed, putting an arm around Castiel's waist. "Sister, he didn't need to convert me to make me fall for him. I'm already on his team. So why don't you run along and leave me here with my boyfriend?"

Castiel wanted to speak up, say something about the fact that Dean shouldn't call himself that, that it would only get him in trouble. But he stayed quiet. A hand came down on his shoulder and made him jump. Sam looked down at him and pat his back. It was just him.

"You're disgusting, just like him!" Ruby snarled.

"You look like you've had a lot of sex, just going by the clothes. You like cock. I do too. You should understand that," Dean said, pulling Castiel close to him. "So how about you leave Cas alone, and don't fuck with me for liking the only decent person around here?"

A boy joined Ruby. Castiel knew him, even though he only got a glimpse of him out the corner of his eye from where he was, pressed against Dean with his face against the boy's chest. It was Crowley. "Don't talk to Ruby like that, you little wretch!"

"I'll talk to her however I want if she keeps this shit up." Dean let go of Castiel suddenly and looked to Sam. "Take Cas inside. I'm gonna deal with them."

Sam hesitated. "Dean, don't. It's not worth it."

"Cas is worth it!" Dean was almost yelling. Sam knew that he couldn't argue with Dean when he was like this, not if he wanted to win, and pulled Castiel close to him, tugging him inside.

Castiel looked up at Sam. "They're going to hurt him!"

"I know. Dean's gonna handle it, though, okay? He always handles this kind of thing." He pat Castiel on the shoulder and led him into the bathroom. "You okay, Cas?"

The boy shook his head. How could he possibly be okay right now? Dean, someone who actually might _like_ him, was going to get hurt just because of a bunch of idiots. "No."

"Hey, don't worry. I'm going to go to him. You stay here. I'll bring him back here, okay? I'll make sure he's alright. He'll be fine, okay? He'll be fine." Sam gave Castiel a quick hug before taking off.

Castiel sat down on the floor in the corner of the room, knowing that this was a bit disgusting, but he didn't care. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how he could help Dean. For once in his life, he had a friend (two friends, if he counted Sam, and he was definitely starting to count Sam), and he was going to get hurt defending him.

Castiel didn't understand why Dean insisted on getting himself hurt over this, and he didn't understand why he'd called himself Castiel's boyfriend. They weren't dating. But maybe it was to make a point. Maybe it was to make sure that those jerks knew that he would defend him. And they hadn't backed off and so he was probably throwing punches now.

The door of the restroom creaked opened and Dean stepped in, blood dripping down his cheek. He was shaking, obviously in pain, but he still smiled at Cas. "Kicked that girl's ass."

Castiel hurried to his side and hugged him. "You shouldn't have done that. You're going to get bullied for the rest of high school."

Dean let out a small sigh. "Well, that's the thing, Cas. I'm only gonna be here for about two months. Until the next report card. And then I go. I've gotta leave. My dad travels a lot, and we'll have to go then."

Castiel frowned, looking up at him and shaking his head. "No. You can't leave. You can't."

"I have to. But don't worry. We can still stay in touch. We'll still be friends."

Castiel shook his head. He didn't want Dean, his first friend since fourth grade, to leave him. He grabbed a paper towel in silence and wet it, placing it on Dean's cheek and dabbing at the blood.

"What does you dad do?" he asked.

"Just business. Stuff. Travels a lot." At Castiel's frown, he sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I would believe anything you told me, Dean." He leaned against him, head on Dean's chest. He felt so safe with Dean, felt like nothing would ever get him.

"My dad hunts monsters. Demons, ghosts, stuff like that. I know it sounds dumb, but that's what we do." He shrugged and kept his grip on Castiel. It was like he didn't want to let go of him.

"Can I come with you? My family wouldn't even miss me."

Dean shook his head. "No. You can't do that, Cas. You'd get hurt. I won't let that happened to you. You're not gonna get into this life. Once you're in, you can't get out."

Castiel nodded. "Okay. Will you still be my friend?" he asked.

"Of course."

Castiel smiled and closed his eyes, lying against him. He loved this—being held, being safe, having someone care about him. But all too soon the bell rang and people came flooding into the bathroom, laughing. Castiel let go of him and they headed to the lockers. Castiel showed him to his next class, and then sat through the rest of the day's courses without Dean, wishing he could do something with him.

They met up after school, and Dean took Castiel home. Well, took him to the hotel room that would be home for the next couple months. They lay together and talked and laughed and ate pie and burgers and just enjoyed each other's company.

They continued like this, with no more problem from the jocks, for a few weeks. One day, a rather cold evening that had Cas and Dean beneath the blankets, cuddled close, Castiel asked, "Are we dating?"

Dean raised a brow. "I guess we could be, if you wanted to. I have to leave in a week, though, Cas."

"That's okay." Castiel didn't want Dean to leave. He had tried so hard to convince him that he could stay with Cas's family, but he couldn't get him to. Family was everything, Dean said, and when his family left, he had to.

"Then we're boyfriends," Dean said, smiling. "We're dating." He kissed Castiel's cheek, the way he had done a few times before, and then placed a kiss on his lips, as if to make it official. Castiel blushed and cuddled closer. He stayed the next few nights with Dean, and skipped school. They went out, they had dinners, they went to parks, did couple things.

And then came Dean's last night. Castiel was snuggled up against him and trying to keep himself together. "D-Dean, I don't want you to leave."

"I know, angel, I know. But I have to. You're gonna be okay without me." He kissed his cheek. "You're gonna be okay. You're strong, and brave, and you're gonna be okay."

"But I'm going to miss you so much and… they're going to mess with me again. I don't want them to mess with me again. And I don't want you to go."

Dean cupped his face in his hands. "Hey, listen to me, angel. You are so much stronger than them. You're stronger than me. You make it through every day. You did it before me. You'll do it again. If they mess with you and you can't stop them, remind them of what Dean Winchester did to them." He kissed his forehead. "It's gonna be okay."

Castiel nodded and curled closer to him, burying his face in Dean's chest. He loved Dean so much. He didn't want to sleep, didn't want to miss a second with Dean, but he was tired and sleep eventually won him over.

When he awake, Dean was gone. All that remained was a piece of paper on the bed and the scent of him lingering on Castiel's shirt. Cas wanted to cry. He wanted to break down and give up right then. But he remembered what Dean said. Dean would want him to stay strong, to keep going. He would want him to be okay. So Castiel took a deep breath and read the note. Three words were written out: _I love you_.

Castiel tucked it into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled it on. He grabbed his bag and headed out. Everything seemed dimmer. The birds didn't sing as happily as before. The clouds were grey overhead, and the rain wasn't beautiful anymore. He took all of this in and took a deep breath, crossing the road. He could see a bit of a light at the end of this, where things would be better—he could see a silver lining. What he didn't see was the car that came at him.

Castiel woke up in a bright room with a smiling man looking down at him. "Hey, there, kiddo." Golden eyes sparkled at him. "I've got good news and bad news. What do you want first?"

Castiel sat up, confused. Was this a hospital? That man wasn't wearing scrubs. He was wearing some kind of toga. And Cas was wearing one too. Definitely not a hospital. He looked around the white, clean room, and looked up at the man. "Bad news."

"Well, the bad news is that you just died. Good news is that you qualify, due to having a broken home, and a broken heart, an overall sucky time on Earth, and dying young, to go into angel training. If you wanted to." The man said this as if it was a normal thing to say to someone, as if it was normal to tell someone they were dead.

Still, Castiel believe him. He could remember a car… Right. Dean had left and he'd been too busy thinking about trying to see the bright side that he hadn't paid attention, and then the car came. "Will I see Dean again?"

"That kid, well, he's in a pretty bad line of work, that kid. You just might."

Castiel nodded quickly. "I'm in."

"Good. Name's Gabriel. Welcome to Heaven."

It was years until Castiel even heard the name Dean Winchester again. He hadn't thought about him for a while. He was busy with other things. But he was kept content by doing things for other angels, helping everyone.

And then everything turned into a mess. When Michael came to Castiel, he knew something was wrong.

"My vessel for the battle with Lucifer is stuck in Hell. Gabriel says you're the one who needs to get him."

Castiel fidgeted a bit, not comfortable with Michael around. He was one of the few angels that Cas didn't like. "Who is he?"

"Kid named Dean Winchester." Michael looked at him as Castiel's face changed, eyes widening.

"I'll do it."

"Good. Get to it." Michael disappeared and Castiel paced for a moment. Dean. His Dean. He was going to see him again.

He felt a spark of emotion. He wasn't supposed to feel anymore, but he did. Just a spark. But sparks ignite fires, and as he searched the pits of Hell for Dean Winchester, the heat around him brought on more emotion, setting off the spark.

When Dean first summoned him, after a week of mistakes made by both of them, he smiled. "Hello, Dean."

.

.

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Thank you!

I did a thing for a friend and this happened. She asked that I do a teen AU and I think I took it too far, but still. I hope you liked it nonetheless.


End file.
